“Are you ever going to shut up and actually work at this?” She says.
It sucks I can’t shut her up.
“The feeling is mutual, believe me. Do you know how ridiculous your thoughts can be? I’ve put up with it for YEARS!”
Okay, I can do this. I sit down on the dirty floor and close my eyes, picturing myself in a meadow. I see my double standing in front of me, except, it’s not me; her face is devoid of all emotion, like the lights are on but nobody’s home.
“Are you ready, Adelaide?” Aeveen asks, her voice emotionless and monotone.
“Ready as I’ll ever be. How exactly am I meant to do this?” I question.
“Like I explained before, you need to reach out to me. You’ve seen me as a physical being, but you need to be able to feel for me, feel the power inside you and then hold on to it.”
I sigh. I have no idea how to do this. She sits down in front of me mirroring my posture, and puts her hands out in front of her like she’s a mime. I raise my hands and press them to hers. All I feel is her icy cold hands, I feel no spark.
“You need to reach for it, Adelaide. We’re connected, you’ll find it.”
I take a deep breath and try to stamp down the frustration. I’d like to hit her, but I’m not sure what hitting her would do for me right now, I’d probably just end up hurting myself. Awesome. I close my eyes again and concentrate on the icy feeling of her hands, imagining a cord from my centre, traveling up through me, down my arms and through my hands into her.
“That’s it, Adelaide, keep pushing!”
I manage to stretch the cord up her arms but as I try to reach her core, I feel the cord snap back into me. God Dammit!
“You’re getting closer, Adelaide. It has only been a few days.”
“I know! But you’re inside of me for crying out loud! This should be easier. None of this makes any sense!”
“We were separated when you were an infant, Adelaide. I assume it was done to mask what you truly are and to ensure you were not executed. What you are is not something that would be accepted in your world.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. How is it she knows all of this and I have no idea?
“What we are, what we will be, is something which has never been. It has only ever been spoken of in whispers. Seers long ago spoke of someone like us, but it has been long forgotten. If people find out what you really are, you will have bigger things to worry about than falling in love with some Vampyr, or the fact that your old best friend is a… what did you say, raging bitch.”
“What exactly am I?”
“You are part Fallen and part something else – something not human, Adelaide. No matter how much you hope you are.”
“What! Of course I’m human!”
“No you’re not, but that’s not what’s important right now. Right now, you need to focus on reaching your power, otherwise you’re going to have much bigger problems than you could have ever imagined.”
COLE
“Aeveen, is that you?” I ask. I’ve been waiting patiently for Micah to reach her again, and this is the first time she’s broken through since Addie took control back.
“What do you want, Father.” She emphasizes the last word. I wonder how much she knows of the truth.
“I just want to speak to you, Aeveen. I want to explain the truth about everything; make you understand I’m not your enemy.”
“Oh really? Is that why I’m locked up in here? Why you torture the body I live in?”
“I’m doing this for you, Aeveen, don’t you see? Without this, you cannot be free. The more I torture her, the more you can come through, the weaker she is, the stronger you become,” I say.
She seems to think this over before asking, “Why would you do this?”
“Because you’re my daughter, and I don’t think it’s right you should be the one to suffer while Adelaide gets to live your life. You should have been as one, but your mother bound the part of her that is you; she made it so you would be trapped. I don’t want that for you: I want you to be free, for you to be by my side.”
“Why would my mother do that? Why would you let her?”
“Your mother feared you; and I did not let her – she hid you from me. I didn’t even know of your existence until very recently, Aeveen; that is when I began my search for you. The joy of knowing I had a daughter; an heir! Then I found out what she had done to you and I made it my mission to free you so you can live your life fully. It is your turn, is it not?”
“It would be nice to live fully, but what about Addie?”
“Addie is the one who kept you submerged. It is because of her, you’ve been locked away. Why would you care about her?”
“Because she is part of me. Why can we not merge?”
“Because, my darling, Addie does not want to merge with you. She’s selfish and wants to keep her body for herself. She’s as bad as her mother, wanting to keep you locked away. But you’re the powerful one, Aeveen. When you remember who you are you’ll know that.”
“And what do you gain by freeing me?” she asks. She’s definitely observant, I’ll give her that. Even if it is frustrating as hell.
“I gain a daughter; someone to share my life with - someone to rule with. I gain a power in my arsenal. I’m not going to lie to you, Aeveen, I will never do that, but I cannot say the same for others. Look in Addie’s memory, you’ll see I never lied to her, not like the other people around her. With you awakened, I would have an unstoppable force on my side and no-one would dare to try and put us down again.”
“So you wish to use me, Father?”
She’s sharp, and I feel a sense of pride. “Never, Aeveen. I’d never make you do anything you didn’t want to do, but if you choose to align with me, there are steps we need to take before we can be truly free. Do you trust me?”
“I do not understand this trust… but you have a logical and reasonable explanation, and I can tell you are telling me the truth. What do you need from me, Father?”
“I need you to fight. Fight Addie with everything you have. I need you to push her down and take control. I will help you in every way I can. Will you do that, Aeveen?”
“I will try my best, Father. Addie is starting to fight me again. I can feel her in the back of my mind.”
“That’s okay, let her back for now. We have a lifetime.”
“Thank you for saving me, Father.”
“I would do anything for you, Aeveen,” I say before she fades away and the body of Addie slumps forward. The relief I feel is overwhelming; knowing I managed to reach Aeveen and bring her to my side. Now we have a fighting chance. Elation floods me in my success.
“Micah, keep going, we’re close, I can feel it. Bring her back to me,” I say before leaving the room and letting him get back to work.
It’s not long now until Xander Bane feels the pain he caused me.
XANDER
Rose insisted on speaking to Addie again before we left, but she’s not been able to reach her. I’m trying not to dwell on what that could mean. For now, I’m focusing on the next steps to get her back; to have her in my arms.
First things first, Kaden. Rose has rounded up two experienced transporters to take us directly to him, and the itch of impatience under my skin is becoming too much. I’ve felt helpless too often recently. This, visiting Kaden, is something I can do. Something I have to do to get to her.
I see them approach and try to relax. Every single muscle in my body is taut, completely on edge. I don’t think I’ll truly relax until I know Addie is safe.
“Are you all ready to go?” Rose asks.
I can’t help the scowl that appears on my face. We’ve been ready to go for what feels like forever. “Yes, we’re just waiting on you, Princess,” I bark out. I don’t have it in me to feel sorry for the harshness in my voice. “Let’s go.”
I take the hand of the transporter closest to me and close my eyes. I feel the air shift around me, and embrace the feeling of falling
. What feels like minutes, but in reality is a few seconds later, I feel solid ground beneath my feet and the swirling air calms to a light breeze. I open my eyes and look around me, making sure everyone else made it okay. Benny is bent over in a rose bush, so I’m guessing it’s his first time. Dimitri looks a little pale. Other than that, our small party seems to be fine.
“Thank you for assisting us,” I say to the transporters before they return to their home.
I start towards the front door of the monstrosity standing before me. It looks like someone in the Old World had far more money than sense and tried to create the hideous love child of a castle and a stately home. The gothic towers, gargoyles that decorate the top of the walls, and wooden beams on show are exactly Kaden’s style. He always loved the human’s penchant for tacky horror. The lion head knocker on the front door dominates it. I lift it and slam it back down three times. Seconds pass before the door is opened by a tall female red-head.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the long lost brother and his merry band. What the hell do you want?” she asks.
“I need to speak to Kaden,” I say.
“Well no-shit, Captain Obvious. I mean, what do you want? Kaden’s busy,” the red-head snarks
Rose bursts forward and hugs her, squealing with delight, “Celeste! I’ve missed you.”
“Hey, little bird, what brings you here. Where’s the mouthy one?”
“That’s why we’re here,” I say, interrupting.
The look of disdain on her face lets me know how she feels about me and I couldn’t give less fucks.
“Addie is missing,” Rose whispers.
“What the hell! Why didn’t you say so? Get in here. Kaden!” she yells and it echoes around the hall. With our special hearing it doesn’t take much to get our attention, I’ll be surprised if Kaden’s ears aren’t ringing after that – mine sure as shit are.
“What the hell are you yelling for?”
I hear Kaden before I see him. He strolls down the oversized staircase that takes up most of the entrance hall, with another Fallen following closely behind him.
“Michael!” Rose squeals running towards the blue haired Fallen. She meets him as he gets to the bottom of the staircase and jumps into his arms. It seems strange to me that she would greet the people who were once her captors in such a way, but I guess it was technically Kaden who was her captor; she eyes him warily.
“Big brother! What brings your grumpy arse to my humble abode?” Kaden asks as he saunters towards me, arms open greeting the whole group, stopping just a few feet in front of me with Celeste to his left, and Michael (with Rose still tucked under his arm) to Kaden’s right.
“I need your help,” I say, straight to the point. I don’t want to be here asking anything of him and I’d rather get it done and out of the way as quickly as possible.
He barks out a laugh, and there’s a mischievous sparkle in his eye. “I never thought the day would come, brother. What, pray tell, could you possibly need my help with?”
I look him straight in the eye and I see him stiffen slightly when he sees how serious I am.
“Addie has been taken. No-one has any solid leads on where exactly she is, but whispers tell us Cole has her.”
Kaden swears enough to make a sailor blush before turning his anger at me. “Can you keep nothing safe, Xander? I gave her back to you in order to keep her safe, and out of his clutches. I should have fucking kept her! I should have known you wouldn’t have the balls to do what was needed to keep her safe!” The emotion pours from him. I guess Addie really did affect him when she was here. Michael clasps his shoulder and seems to plant him in place.
“Calm yourself, Kaden,” he says. The bass of his voice is so low I swear I feel the vibrations in my chest. He turns towards me. “When was she taken?”
“About three and a half months ago. We were unaware of her disappearance until two months a month and a half ago. We were away on a mission,” I say. The shame burns my throat.
“Are you bloody kidding me! She’s been gone that long and you’re only just coming to us? I thought you loved her, brother. Do you have any idea what he could have done to her in that time?” Kaden yells at me.
“I am all too aware, Kaden. Now calm yourself so we can find her. I’m here now and I’m asking for help. We have managed to reach her, well, Rose here did, but she has no idea where she is. All we know is it’s bad and we need to get to her as soon as we can. Do you know where he is?”
“We do, but it’s not like we can just waltz up to his front door and take her home, Xander. He lives in wolf territory,” Kaden says before letting out another string of cuss words.
“Which pack?” I ask. Please don’t be the Shadow pack. I can’t stand them; an egotistical bunch of bastards who get caught up in their own hype.
“It’s Kas Narayana’s land. Up in what used to be Canada.”
Well thank god for that.
“It’s still not going to be easy though, Xander. Kas is still pissed at you after the last time you were there,” he remarks with a grimace.
The last time we were there, Kas’ Beta, Clay had got out of line before completely flipping his lid and killing two humans. We had to put him down but it caused a rift; Kas felt it was none of our business, the Fae felt differently.
“Yeah well, let’s hope his new Beta isn’t such a raging douche. Clay wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the toolbox,” I say with a smirk. Kaden laughs a little before looking around at us all.
Kaden and I haven’t seen eye to eye in a long time but he’s my brother, and I’m beginning to realise he actually cares about Addie, regardless of what he’ll admit. I’m not sure how I feel about that exactly, but there is nothing I can do about it right now; I have bigger things to worry about.
“Can you get in touch with Kas? Let him know we’re coming for a visit and that it’s not a social call, but to keep it quiet. The last thing we need is someone in Cole’s camp to hear about our presence there.”
“I can do that,” Kaden says. He turns to Michael and issues instruction. “Michael, make sure everyone who needs a room has one. Get them food. You know the drill.”
“Of course,” Michael says with a nod of his head. He turns to us and smiles. “If you will all follow me.”
ROSE
Michael leads everyone to their rooms before taking me to the room Addie and I shared in the past. He ushers me in and wraps me up in the biggest bear hug.
“I’ve missed you, sweet pea,” he says into my hair before kissing the top of my head. “I only wish we weren’t together under such horrific circumstances.”
I nod before stepping back from him and sitting on the bed. “It feels like forever since we were here. I can’t believe it was only, what? Nine months?”
“I know baby-girl, and now our Addie has gone and gotten herself into a whole world of trouble all over again,” he says perching next to me.
“I can’t believe all of this. I thought after everything that happened, we’d finally get some sort of normalcy. We deserve it. But when I spoke to her, Michael, oh God, the things they’ve put her through,” I sob.
“How exactly did you speak to her, Rose?” he asks, looking confused.
“That’s right, I forgot you guys didn’t know I’m a Dream Walker,” I blurt out quickly. It’s not like it’s a secret, but I wasn’t exactly offering up information about myself before I met Addie. The shock on his face is about what I expected.
“A Dream Walker? But you were here for so long, and with that monster for all that time before you came to us. Why didn’t you use it to escape, or be rescued?” he asks, his disbelief apparent. I understand it, I’d react the same. I shudder thinking about everything that happened before.
“I didn’t know how to use it – not until Addie. She helped me work at it. We’d go to sleep in here and talk in our dreams, scheme about how to get out of here. I’ve not been able to connect to anyone else, but I can always reach her, no matter th
e distance. Only I… I haven’t been able to reach her the past few days, Michael,” I whisper. “I’m so afraid for her. What she’s going through is more than any person should have to live through. What if she finally gives up? I don’t know anyone who could survive that.”
“Don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours, doll. Addie is the strongest person I know; stubborn and sassy as hell too. I bet she’s driving them crazy. She’ll get through this, and she’ll be okay,” he says before hugging me tightly again.
A knock on the door makes me look up, and Kaden’s head pops around the door. I sit up a littler straighter, old habits die hard.
“Michael, I need you. We’ve got some shit to sort here before we leave to head north,” he says before disappearing as quickly as he appeared.
Michael sighs before squeezing me again, then he’s standing and a wave of disappointment roils over me. I had hoped for more time with him.
“Duty calls,” he says. “We’ll get her back, you’ll see. You should get some sleep; I have a feeling it’s going to be a long few days.”
XANDER
I run my hand through my hair, it’s a wonder I’m not bald. Advantages of being damned I suppose. I’m surprised everything today went as smoothly as it did. I think if I’d been here for any other reason, I’d have had the door slammed in my face.
The urge to storm in and try and take control of Kaden’s people is overwhelming. Leaving the details to him is completely out of my nature, but it's his contacts we’re using, and considering mine and Kas’ history, I’d probably end up being more of a hindrance than a help. Dimitri opens the door and I can see immediately that the worry is starting to take a toll on him. The guilt for the situation we’re in slams home again.
Crash (The Immortal Chronicles Book 2) Page 7